Midge Purce Is Eager to Highlight NJ/NY As World Cup Host City Ambassador

There are just over 60 days until the men’s FIFA World Cup hits the shores of North America, but NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Midge Purce is already getting to work on plans to highlight the New York/New Jersey area as a host city.

“I’ve gotten the question of how does it feel to live in one of the host cities, but I’m living in the host city—this is where the final is, right in our backyard,” Purce says. “I understand the historical significance of this, and I know I’ll be telling my grandchildren that I lived in New York the year the World Cup final was at MetLife [Stadium] and I was there.”

The two-time National Women’s Soccer League champion joins two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning and NCAA national champion and New York Knicks guard Josh Hart as official NYNJ World Cup 2026 ambassadors.

The trio will represent the region on the global stage in the lead-up to and during the tournament, using their voices and platforms to showcase the community and promote fan engagement.

“I was really honored [to be asked]. Before they even told me what it entailed, I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it!’” Purce says of the ambassadorship. “Being able to be part of one of the biggest tournaments in the world is insane to me, especially in a way that holds a lot of prestige. We really are welcoming the rest of the world to this part of the country. That means a lot to me, and I take it very seriously.”

For Purce, her love of soccer dates back to early childhood, and memories of watching the World Cup—both men’s and women’s—have shaped her love of the game, including iconic moments such as Dutch striker Robin van Persie’s header against Spain.

“June 13th, 2014, van Persie’s header,” Purce says. “I remember just watching television and thinking, Is that physically possible? That was crazy.”

Purce, who joined Gotham FC in 2020, had been a mainstay in the NY/NJ soccer scene for some time. Spending time with the USWNT and finding success with Gotham, Purce is very familiar with utilizing her platform for worthy causes. As an ambassador, she hopes to use her voice to promote not just the World Cup but also the people of the NY/NJ area.

“I’m most looking forward to the community impact,” Purce says. “There’s this idea I’ve had for a while that I hope will be impactful on a community basis, and be able to share the game in a really special way with kids and people who might not be as familiar with European football.”

Although she’s keeping the details to herself at the moment, she stressed that the idea behind the community-driven aspects of her role is to show the world that people in NY/NJ take care of their own.

“Eli [Manning] and I were talking about how important it is that even with the rest of the world coming here, we have people here who live here and want to make sure that this world stage moment is really shared with them,” she says.

Manning and Purce are no strangers to working together since he joined Gotham FC’s ownership group as a minority investor in 2022. In that time, Purce has gotten to know the NFL superstar and has given him the highest compliment: a comparison to USWNT superstar and her Gotham teammate Rose Lavelle.

“I’ve known Rose for a really long time, since we were kids, and through all of her success—and she’s one of the most successful women soccer players on the globe—she has not changed at all,” Purce says. “She’s true to her character, her personhood, the way she treats others, and I think it’s one of the most genuine, authentic things that a lot of people can lose. Eli is this way, he’s just so down to earth, a goofball at times, and it’s really refreshing to be around.”

Together with Hart, the ambassadors are focused on highlighting the best of the NY/NJ area, which, for Purce, is the diversity of its people. From her own experience playing pickup games in the city and participating in charity events like the Steve Nash Foundation Showdown, Purce has made sure to immerse herself in the soccer community whenever she finds time between games at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J.

“New York and New Jersey are so beautifully diverse with people who have football rooted in their culture,” she says. “It makes this area an even more special place for football.”

Just days before the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, Purce will be busy with a few games of her own. On July 15, Gotham will take on Trinity Rodman and the Washington Spirit in a one-time event at Citi Field (a rematch of the 2025 NWSL final, which Gotham won 1–0).

The Queens Classic, as it’s called, is on track to break the record attendance for a women’s sports event in New York City. With 10,000 tickets already sold and a capacity of over 40,000, the timing of the event, along with the World Cup, may be just right to bring more eyes to women’s soccer in the area.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve talked about making sure that we’re playing in the right places to actually invite more people to buy into the product—because it’s not a product problem at all,” Purce says. “It’ll be really cool to play at Citi Field and showcase these two teams specifically, because we rarely have a boring game.”

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